Bright Spring

In addition, there are also friends with foreign surnames who have invested in the Shen family business gang.

"We in Yunnan have to rely on each other. But fighting thousands of troops, that is a bottomless pit! With your family background, how can you survive a few days?" The person who spoke was a man in his fifties. , he is the uncle of the same clan of Mrs. Shen's stepdaughter Shen Manshu.

When Uncle Shen said something, everyone nodded in agreement, thinking it made sense.

Mrs. Shen had no choice but to persuade her: "Brothers, please be safe and don't be impatient. The King of Han did not ask us to pay money and food. A few days ago Xu Cailiu was in the residence of the King of Han. Please ask Xu Cailiu."

After all, Mrs. Shen's husband had passed away, and she had never given birth to a man and a half woman for the Shen family. At this time, almost all the people who questioned were from the Shen family, but the Xu family refrained from making a sound.

The other middle-aged man who spoke was also surnamed Shen, but the relationship was a bit distant.His tone was more relaxed, and he said earnestly: "It's not like we haven't seen the methods of the emperor's family before. If they didn't want to take money out of us people's pockets, they would take care of them? What's more, if they took out the money, they wouldn't be able to afford it." Good! Back then, the Shen family spent money to build the city and reward the army, what good did they get?"

Several people echoed, "Yes, it is..." "The teacher who never forgets the past..."

The man looked around, sighed again, looked at Mrs. Shen who was sitting on the side chair, and said, "It's still a bit too hasty for Madam to communicate with the King of Han."

He lowered his voice and said in a deep voice, "I think this matter... Maybe it was just a game from the beginning! The King of Han was so happy that he decided to open up territories early in the morning. So he first used the guise of emeralds to lure us Get on the boat; then they have the final say, insisting that we also have a share. In the end, the knife rests on the neck, and the military money and food, will you give it or not?"

Immediately someone echoed in a low voice: "People from the Zhu family are the most untrustworthy!"

At this moment, a middle-aged woman in a gray dress walked in, walked up to Mrs. Shen lightly, bowed her head and said a few words in Mrs. Shen's ear.

Madam Shen's expression changed slightly.The surrounding discussions suddenly died down, and everyone looked sideways curiously, guessing what the servant had whispered just now.

"Brothers, it's still too early to make a conclusion, let's wait for a few days to see." Mrs. Shen said, "I'm in a hurry, please take my leave first." She turned her head and said, "Order my servant, so that I can entertain the two families." relatives and friends."

"Yes." The woman replied.

Mrs. Shen had already stood up, and all the guests could only stand up and return the salute, saying goodbye to Mrs. Shen.

She walked through the corridor on the eaves, stepped back and left, and waited for a while, waiting for the middle-aged woman to come.The two of them walked together to a corridor like a bridge, and Madam Shen asked softly, "Is the King of Han in the theater?"

The woman said: "Yes, the people over there still invite him to go upstairs and sit in the original private room."

The two of them walked for a while, and the woman finally couldn't help asking, "I dare you, servant girl, do you think the King of Han is reliable?"

Mrs. Shen hesitated slightly, and said: "After all, the Taizu is the emperor who conquered the world. The King of Han was not so cruel since he was a child...But people are so close to each other, who can say for sure?"

When I came to the theater, it was just after noon; the first play was being sung on the stage, and there were not many guest officials in the hall.Theaters generally do not perform performances in the morning.

Mrs. Shen walked into the door of the private room, and saw the King of Han sitting there alone, looking at the actors on the stage.Today, the guards around him were all in the corridor and did not enter this private room.

Before Mrs. Shen could speak, Zhu Gaoxu turned around.Madam Shen bent her knees and cupped her hands in front of her belly, saying: "I have met Your Highness in person."

"Excuse me, Ma'am, please sit here." Zhu Gaoxu greeted, "It seems that the female opera singer is not Li Louxian?"

Mrs. Shen said: "Return to Your Highness, this is not the time when there are many people, Li Louxian's play today should be in Youshi."

"Hmm..." Zhu Gaoxu nodded.He often has this action and tone.

Zhu Gaoxu then asked again: "Is Li Louxian's body well?"

Mrs. Shen had no choice but to follow his words and replied: "Your Highness is worried, she has already recovered. A few days ago, fortunately, she only took one or two doses of arsenic | cream, so she recovered quickly; I heard from the doctor that I am most afraid of being cured. The kind of people who often take arsenic|arsenic..."

Speaking of this, she couldn't help asking carefully: "Did the prince come here today to watch Li Louxian's play?"

After asking, Mrs. Shen waited anxiously for Zhu Gaoxu's answer, and saw him shaking his head nervously.He replied: "I didn't come to see the play, but to meet her. Didn't I say last time that we'll meet again when she recovers? I usually do what I said."

Mrs. Shen looked at him with a complicated expression.

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment and then said: "After a while, I will lead my troops to Meng Yangsi. If I don't find time to see her these few days, this matter will be delayed again."

Mrs. Shen hurriedly said: "My concubine will call her here now."

Chapter 276

Opera singers don't need to have good skin, anyway, they wear heavy makeup when they go on stage.But the voice must be good, and the eyes must be expressive.

The private room was not big, and after Li Lou first sat down nearby, Zhu Gaoxu could see that her skin was a bit dull, and it was indeed not very fair and tender, no wonder she had to risk her life to take arsenic.

Li Louxian was well-known in Yunnan Fucheng, but Zhu Gaoxu had never met her before, so he really didn't know what to say for a while.Fortunately, she took the initiative to talk, so the atmosphere didn't seem so awkward.

Although it was daytime, the light in the theater was not very bright.In this slightly bleak private room of the pavilion, where the minor blemishes on the actor's face were covered up, Zhu Gaoxu gradually felt at ease listening to Li Louxian's soft and gentle words.

I don't know how he talked about the opera industry, Li Louxian said in a high and low voice: "It's better, if you are favored by the master or a wealthy master, you can be a concubine, and you will leave the opera troupe from now on. If If you don’t sing well, you will usually be resold by the owner, first in a brothel, then inevitably in a dilapidated kiln.”

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu said: "Then they should plan more for the future."

Li Lou shook his head first and said, "Usually, one day counts as one day, who cares about the future?"

She picked up the teapot with a beautiful gesture of her fingers.Zhu Gaoxu found that her slender hands were fairer than the skin on her face and neck.She poured a cup of tea and gently placed it in front of Zhu Gaoxu.

At this time Zhu Gaoxu sighed, and said: "But for a first-class actress like Miss Li, Mrs. Shen values ​​you so much, shouldn't it be that way?"

Li Louxian said slowly: "What the lord said is that in the future, the concubine will stay in Shen's residence and help Madam teach those new opera singers."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "So that's the case."

He originally thought that Li Lou first wanted to get close to the prince in order to find a way out, but who knew that she had already arranged for the rest of her life when she said it herself... At this time Zhu Gaoxu was a little confused, she risked her life to get close to him , what benefits can you get?Do you just want to admire and make friends with powerful people?

Li Lou bowed and bent down first, and said softly: "The prince is a noble family, but he is willing to ask these lowly people, and he is merciful and sympathetic to the people to make people admire him." After she finished speaking, her lowered eyes looked up slightly, Zhu Gaoxu's heart softened.

Zhu Gaoxu stabilized his mood, changed the subject and said, "How old was Miss Li when she entered the industry?"

Li Lou first said: "I entered the industry late, and when I arrived at Shen's house, I was already sixteen or seventeen years old."

"Oh?" Zhu Gaoxu was a little surprised, and quickly praised, "Miss Li is very talented. I heard that many opera actors grew up in elementary school, but they can't sing as well as Miss Li. It is also a good thing to realize one's ambition in life. A lot of fun."

Li Louxian sighed softly, with a look of resentment on his face, "Before I entered the profession, I was already a woman and married to a good family. Unexpectedly, my luck was bad and my husband's family suffered a serious crime, so I became a slave. Luckily, Shen's mansion bought it. Otherwise, life will be so good, why would I bother to show my face..."

Li Louxian showed a pitiful smile, and the two contradictory emotions merged into one on her face.Zhu Gaoxu felt that he was right, she had a talent for singing.

"It's all in the past..." Her voice was low.

Zhu Gaoxu seemed to hear her voice was a bit strange, and when he looked closely, he saw tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, and she lowered her head and began to cry.

"I mentioned Miss Li's unfortunate life experience, so I apologize." Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly said, he stretched out his hand for a moment of hesitation, then retracted, took out a handkerchief, and handed it over.

Li Lou first took the handkerchief, wiped his cheeks lightly twice, suddenly his fingers trembled, and said: "My concubine has soiled the lord's handkerchief."

"It's okay, Miss Li, don't be too sad." Zhu Gaoxu said kindly, "There are always ups and downs in life, you have to think about the good."

"Thank you, my lord." Li Lou said first.After a while, she started crying softly again, and her shoulders twitched again.

For a while, Zhu Gaoxu didn't know what to say to comfort her.He also felt that this famous and popular actor was very strange. The first time he was poisoned, and the second time he finally met, he cried here again.

She cried for a while, then quickly apologized, choked up and said: "I'm sorry, my lord, for disturbing your interest. I just thought of my husband, and I have been unable to return home for so many years, but I can only flee in the deep mountains and wild forests. Hold back the sadness...I'm really sorry."

Zhu Gaoxu's face was stunned, and he vaguely guessed what she meant.He held his breath and asked, "What is your husband's name, and what did he do?"